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Afghanistan Operations Target Bombers, Weapons

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2010  Afghan and international patrols targeted bombing facilitators and weapons used to attack security forces during recent operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan, military officials reported.

Two insurgents were killed when they fired on an Afghan-international security force as it pursued a Taliban commander in Ghazni province last night. The combined force went to an open field in the Qara Bagh district after intelligence information indicated insurgent activity. The security force was confronted in a small camp by several armed insurgents. Two of the militants were killed in the ensuing firefight.

The search team interviewed one of the tent owners, who said the insurgents were outsiders who had forced their way into the camp. The combined force found rocket-propelled grenades, an automatic rifle and fragmentation grenades. Two suspected insurgents were detained for questioning.

West of Marja in Helmand province’s Nawa district last night, a combined force captured a Taliban roadside-bomb expert and a few other militants.

Also in Helmand last night, an Afghan-international security force detained almost a dozen suspected insurgents as it searched for a senior Taliban commander who is part of a group that directs bomb attacks and ambushes against coalition forces.

In Kandahar last night, a combined security force pursuing a Taliban commander involved in purchasing weapons and roadside bombs found explosive components and captured a suspected militant in the Zharay district. The team also uncovered multiple 155 mm shells, ammonium nitrate and sulfur, all used to make explosives.

In Khost province last night, several insurgents were killed and one was wounded by an Afghan-international security force searching for a Haqqani terrorist network facilitator. Following a close-air-support mission that killed some insurgents, the combined force went to a rural area in the Terezayi district and was confronted by an armed man. He repeatedly refused to drop his weapon and was shot and killed when he attempted to engage the security force.

The targeted Haqqani leader is responsible for facilitating and storing bomb-making materials, planting roadside bombs and giving and receiving reports on coalition-force movements. A roadside bomb found near one of the insurgents was later detonated in place.

In other news, an MH-60 helicopter made a controlled landing after being hit by enemy fire in Helmand province yesterday. All crew members were safely returned to their base. The helicopter was supporting a combined Afghan-international assault force in the Sangin district and had just begun its return flight when it was hit by enemy fire.

The helicopter could not be recovered and it was destroyed in place with close-air support munitions. Multiple enemy fighters were engaged by the combined force, and several suspected militants were captured at the targeted compound.